The Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) will present a new energy master plan, covering a detailed energy infrastructure plan until 2011, next month, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said on May 30.
Delivering her departmentâ€™s R2,96-billion budget vote speech in Parliament, she said that the DME would also develop an integrated energy-modeling system to inform long-term integrated energy planning by 2009.

Sonjica said that 63% of her budget was allocated to the department's electrification programme, which included State power utility Eskom and municipalities.

The policy interventions came as a response to burning energy challenges, such as rolling electricity blackouts and fuel shortages, she said.

Sonjica, who noted that she was concerned about the repeated blackouts and power shortages, said that the challenge was as a result of infrastructure constraints and the inadequacy of some of the demand and supply plans that had been put in place years ago.